Auditor documents Medicaid noncompliance, cites Youngstown company

COLUMBUS — Ohio Auditor Dave Yost released a report today documenting the noncompliance in Ohio’s Medicaid program and argued for legislation to help mitigate the problem.

The auditor used Angel Carriers LLC of Youngstown as an example of a Medicaid provider that went out of its way to avoid his office’s scrutiny.

“When we went in and asked for the documentation they said, ‘Oh, there was a fire, all of our records were destroyed.’ We went back and looked and there was in fact a fire in the garage,” he said.

The records were not in the garage. Angel Carriers then claimed the records were in a house that was demolished, he said.

They only provided the records when Yost threatened to issue a finding for the entire amount for which they had billed Medicaid.

The auditor’s office determined Angel Carriers asked for $458,083 in overpayments – nearly 98 percent of its Medicaid payments.

All told, the report documents $33.3 million in improper payments.

A bill in the Ohio Senate would require Medicaid providers to provide surety bonds and to complete certification before they get paid.

“The idea that you can catch up on your certifications and we’ll pay you in the meantime is a profoundly stupid idea,” Yost said.